Irish News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 9, 4 March 1909, Page 347

Irish News

ANTRIM— A Memorial A stained-glass window, costing about £200, is to be placed in Belfast Cathedral to perpetuate the memory of the late Rev. W. G. Darley, Inspector of "Religious Education in the diocese of Down and Connor. CORK— Accident in the Hunting Field A serious accident occurred in the shunting field with the South Union Foxhounds on January 7V7 V Mr. John Cotter Wood) D.L., J.P., was with tlie hunt, and in the afternoon _was found lying unconscious by a fence. He had suffered terrible injury to the head. When the mail left he was in a critical condition. He is seventy years of ago. DONEGAL— Death of Canon McFaddenH The death is reported of the Very Rev. Canon McFadden, Archdeacon of Raphoe, who passed aAvay on January 7 at his residence, St. Fenins, Falcarragh, County Donegal. Having attained the venerable age of 82, and recently giving indications of a weakening of his former splendid physical powers, the " sad termination of his illness (says the Irish Weekly) was not unexpected by his brethren of Raphoe or his affectionate flock ; but their grief will be none the less profound at the demise of so brave a champion and so kindly a priest. Regret will be widespread, Archdeacon McFadden's patriotic work having earned for his name a prominent place in the history of Ulster. The interment took place at Gortahork. An immense concourse of clergy and laity, the presence of his Eminence Cardinal Logue, of Most Rev. Dr. O'Donnell, and of the representatives of Most Rev. Dr. McHugh, Bishop of Derry, and Most Rev. Dr. O'Neill, Bishop of Dromore, furnished impressive evidence of the esteem in which the venerable priest was held, and of the deep regret felt at his demise. Before the obsequies terminated his Eminence delivered a brief and pathetic address, saying that Archdeacon MacFadden's death meant a great loss to the Bishop and priests of Raphoe, and an irreparable loss to the good people amongst whom he labored for over half a century. Personally, he had lost a close personal friend, who had prepared him for his Confirmation. From the beginning of his priestly life Archdeacon MacFadden had been a model to the priests of the diocese. He had been over kind, hospitable, and faithful in the discharge of his duties. His Eminence sincerely sympathised with the diocese of Raphoe in the loss it had sustained by the death of a model priest, a patriotic Irishman, and one who liad been in every respect a gentleman. DOWN— With one Family for Ninety-seven Years At the grand age of 106 years (says the Irish Weekly) there has passed away at Lisburn a greatly-respected old lady in tlie person of Susan O'Hagan. Deceased had the distinction of being probably the oldest domestic servant, having spent within three years of a century with one family. In the yfar 1811, when only nine years of age, she entered the service of the Hall family at Hilltown, Connty Down, and remained with them through an unbroken period of 97 years, being in the service of Dr. Hall, grandson of her first employer, up to her death. Up to a week before her demise she was in the enjoyment of splendid health for one of her age, but at length the weight of years told against her, and she passed to her reward at her residence, Smithfield, Lisburn, after a long and well-spent life. A devout Catholic, she constantly frequented the Sacraments, and in her last moments was assiduously attended by the Very Rev. Mark McCashin, P.P., V.F., who remained with her to ,the end. The Hall family, who were most devoted to her, showed the greatest kindness to their old and valued retainer. The deceased was of a most entertaining disposition., and was never tired of telling interesting anecdotes of her earlier days. She possessed a retentive memory, and often related her experiences of the, reception accorded the soldiers returning from the battle of Waterloo. QALWAY— The Clanricarde Estate A representative and influential meeting of the tenants on the Clanricarde Estate was held at Portumna on January 10. The meeting assembled for the purpose of signing and forwarding a petition to the Chief Secretary enumerating the hardships to which the tenants, are subjected, and offering to purchase their holdings at a price to be left to the Government and Estates Commissioners. The petition appeals to the Government that, should Lord Clanricarde refuse to sell under these conditions, a compulsory clause be inserted in the present Land Bill against

him. The tenants state they only want to be placed on the same footing as that of their neighbors, who have purchased their holdings. Evicted Tenants Reinstated * Sixteen evicted tenants on the" Lewis Estate at Ballinagar have been reinstated in their old homes by the Estates Commissioners. KERRY— Death of a Religious The death of Sister Laurentia took place on January 8 at the Mercy Convent,- Kenmare, after a lengthened illness, v. The deceased lady belonged to an old and highly respected' Kerry family, being daughter of the late Mr. o'Sullivan,^ Eiries, and sister of Dr. William O'Sullivan, coroner, Killarney. MAYO— Evictions in the West On January 8 evictions took place on the Legan .Estate, situate at a place named Graheens, five miles from Aughagower, and about ten miles from Westport. A more pitiably congested area, or a more impoverished lot of tenants, it would be impossible to find in any part of Mayo. One of the tenants evicted was Thomas Geraghty, who is 75 years of age. His wife, who is ten years his senior, has been confined almost continuously to her bed for a lliimber of years. SLlQO— Evicted Tenants It is announced that the Estates Commissioners propose to acquire compulsorily under the Evicted Tenants Acts lands in the townland of Doomore, Barony of Leyny, County Sligo, the estate of Utred A. Knox. WATERFORD— A Venerable Christian Brother Our Home exchanges report with sincere regret the i death at the parent institution of the Christian Brothers, Mount Sion, Waterford, of Brother Hayes. The deceased gentleman was born at Dingle in November, 1832, and subsequently joined the Order, beginning his novitiate in Waterford. For many years he filled the office of Superior in Belfast, Tr alee, Kilkenny, and Cashel; and after 48 years' noble and unselfish service in that capacity, he was relieved of the responsibilities of that position. Some nine years ago he went to Movmt Sion, to spend his declining years in the monastery in which he began his religious career. In recent years he had not enjoyed good health, but lie was assiduously attended by Dr. J. J. O' Sullivan. Brother Hayes was a special favorite "with the community, and with the pupils, and his death was widely deplored. , WEXFORD— Diamond Jubilee Monday, December 28j was- the ' sixtieth anniversary of the sacred ministry of the Very Rev. John J. -Roche, O.F.M. (says the Wexford People). No priest, regular or secular, ever attained such a high place in the estimation of the people of Wexford as the beloved and revered Franciscan. ' Father John,' as he is lovingly known amongst the people, is a king of his Order, his throne being" in the hearts of the faithful. Father Roche is the author of several beautiful religious works, which have appeared from time to time. That he may enjoy many more years in the service of his Divine Master is the wish of all who know him. GENERAL The Financial Position - „ In the course of a lecture before the Young Ireland Society in Dublin, Mr. T. M. Kettle said that the financing of the Old Age Pensions Act had produced an acute crisis, which would make this the most significant year, from the financial point of view, since the Act of Union. In hia opinion. good would come from the Old Age .Pensions Act, but if the financing of that Act meant a ".repetition of the old process of feeding the dog with a bit of his own, tail, his contentment with that Act would be somewhat ' troubled.^ The total revenue raised in Ireland for last year was £9,620,000, and the expenditure on the Home Government £7,800,000," leaving a balance of £1,800,00 -as profit to the British Empire. If they set down upon the expenditure side £1,500,000 for old-age pensions, the increased estimate of £114,000. for primary education, and the sums allotted to the new Universities, and the increased grant to .the Congested Districts Board, -and the sum on the loss of flotation of Land Stock, on condition that there was no further taxation imposed upon Ireland this year, the British Government, for the first time since the Act of Union, would not be making one penny profit out of Ireland. The Act of Union would have ceased to pay a dividend, and when that time arrived they might expect to have Home Rule forced upon them whether they liked it or not.

A New Irish Historian Mr. C". H. Oldham, 8.A., lecturing in Dublin on December 21, before the. National Literary Society, thus spoke of Irish history : 'At this juncture -it seems to me that we Irish have nc/histdry; we only have a big pile of new material out of which- some day history may be produced. This position -is embarrassing 'and demoralising. Few of us have the frse time, or the intellectual training, necessary to handle the raw materials ourselves. -It is certain that the day has gone by for making new books by merely copying out the unverified or untested statements which we find printed in older books. A good many of us are merely waiting and hoping" for the true historian to turn up and tell its all about the whole thing. Pending his expected arrival, now much overdue, we are living along really without any history at all I In such case a shrewd man, who has any reputation to lose, will sit tight and say nothing. But those of us who are clothed with* any repute as historians, but who are too deeply interested to sit tight and stop thinking, must try to grope our timid way through the debris .of crumbling statement, like a blind man feeling for his home through a city which an earthquake has tumbled ' all about his footsteps. It is questionable now whether this historian that we are looking for has not arrived in Mrs. Green. Her work, The Making of Ireland and its Undoing, has flooded our knowledge with such an amount of new light that we are really at present Minded by excessive light. *"* Banking Returns The report oa the banking, railway, and shipping statistics of Ireland for the half-year ending June 30, 1908, issued by the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland, contains some exceedingly interesting and important information regarding Ireland's present financial position. As regards banks, the report contains the following: — The deposits and cash balances in joint stock banks amounted on June 30 last to £50,596,000, being the highest amount for June of which there is record, and £2,529,000 in excess of that for June, 1907. Comparing the deposits and cash balances since June, 1888 — with the exception of a decrease in June, 1897 — there has been a gradual increase from £30,310,000 in June, 1888, to £50,596,000 in June, 1908. These figures are of considerable interest as indicating the growth of the operations and influence of banking in Ireland. They do not, however, in themselves gauge the growth of ' net savings.' Such a growth and its extent could only be determined by a complete account of savings on the one hand and of indebtedness on the other. But for this account the necessary data are not available. A comparative table of half-yearly totals of deposits and cash balances is appended, extending back to 1898, which shows that there was an increase in June last of £217,000 over the amount recorded for the period of December. A second table shows that at the end of last June the estimated amount in the Post Office Savings Banks in Ireland stood at £10,627,000, as compared with £10,637,000 for the corresponding period of 1907 — a decrease of £10,000.